Anna Wintour: the personality and success of the high priestess of fashion.

The Wall Street Journal

*(You'll want to read my previous post -- "The September Issue" -- before this one).

The name is Anna Wintour.

If you are anybody in the world of fashion and you are not in her inner circle, you are terrified. To those of us who have never been acquainted with her, she is the petite woman with the signature blonde bob behind the dark, round Chanel sunglasses sitting in the front row at fashion shows.

"Anna Wintour has this no nonsense personality," Brie Colangelo said. "She's cutthroat and says exactly what she thinks. She is the goddess of fashion because she is so brutally honest."

Wintour was born in 1949 and became editor at Vogue in 1988.  Though her reign over the fashion world did not begin until later in her life, she has always been connected to the world of journalism through her father, who was an editor of a London newspaper.

"I think my father really decided for me that I should work in fashion," Wintour recalls in "The September Issue."

With the help of her father and the connections of her journalist boyfriends, she quickly rose to the top in the fashion magazine industry.

Though she is known for her signature look and for being the best in the industry, most know her for her "ice princess" personality.

"At some stage in her career, Anna Wintour stopped being Anna Wintour and started being 'Anna Wintour,' at which point, like wings of a stately home, she closed off large sections of her personality to the public," The Guardian reported.

There have always been rumors of her volatile outbursts and her unrealistic requests. Hence, the birth of "The Devil Wears Prada."

"She is the editor of one of the most famous, if not the most famous, fashion magazine in the world," Colangelo said. "If she was easy going and indecisive people wouldn't respect her as much, work as hard to earn her approval, or respect her opinion."

Perhaps Colangelo has a point. Would Wintour be as worshiped by her army if she did not rule as a dictator? Vogue is definitely the Associated Press of the fashion world, being the most credible source, but would the publication still be so if it were not for the cutthroat personality of Wintour?

Jocelyne LaFortune, an aspiring journalist, agrees that Wintour's strong personality has played a large role in establishing Vogue as the bible of fashion.

"It's hard to imagine someone who isn't as strong willed being successful in an industry that is so cutthroat and competitive," LaFortune said.

Afterall, Wintour is quoted as saying: "You either know fashion or you don't."

"Sex and the City" fashion interpreted by college students.

This past weekend my roommates and I held a "Sex and the City" themed party. Our guests had to dress how they interpreted "Sex and the City" style. Though, most Chanel and Dior gowns are out of the question when it depends on the average college student's bank account, many of our female guests wore cocktail dresses, sequins and heels. The men of the party also stayed true to "Sex and the City" style. They wore button up shirts, blazers and cashmere sweaters. Though "Sex and the City" fashion can be interpreted into over-the-top trends and fashions, ultimately it is about making the outfit your own in a way that will make you stand out from others. 

an ode to Jackie Kennedy style.

google images

google images

During the early 1960s, Jackie Kennedy was a fashion icon for many women. She enlisted Oleg Cassini to design her wardrobe when her husband was elected president of the United States. Cassini designed nearly 300 looks for Kennedy. 

Cassini, a French-born American designer,  originally worked as a costume designer. Cassini grew up in Florence, but visited Paris twice a year with his mother to study French fashion. In later years, he moved to New York and eventually Hollywood. 

Kennedy's style was elegant, yet simple. She wore pieces that were tailored, geometric and decorated with large buttons. Many women copied the "Jackie" look by donning pillbox hats, above-the-elbow gloves and low-heel pumps. However after her time in the White House, her style changed dramatically. Her conservative First Lady clothes disappeared and she started to wear wide-leg pantsuits, headscarves, large sunglasses and gypsy skirts. Her clothing was also bright in color. 

Not only did Kennedy wear Cassini, she also wore Chanel and Dior. 

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel was the inventor of the "little black dress," quilted handbags and the tweed suit. Chanel grew up in an orphanage during the late 1800s. Though she never married, she had several lovers and eventually obtained the funds to start her fashion empire. She shortened the hems of skirts to just below the knee (this was long before Courreges instituted the miniskirt in France) and made costume jewelry fashionable. According to Werle (author of "50 Fashion Designers You Should Know"), Chanel was not the first to reject the corset in her designs (Poiret and Vionnet had previously done so), but it was ultimately she who banned this garment from the wardrobes of the world. 

During World War II, Chanel stopped production of her clothing (as did most other French designers). However, in 1954 at the age of 71, Chanel made her comeback. 

Christian Dior, yet another French designer, took his wearers into the past. His evening gown creations used up to 40 meters of fabric. Chanel is quoted as saying, "These heavy, stiff dresses that don't even fit into a suitcase--ridiculous! Dior doesn't dress women, he upholsters them." However, Dior said his aim was to "make elegant women more beautiful and beautiful women more elegant." 

Dior proved to be successful, and by 1950 he had as many as 1000 dressmakers working for his fashion house. In only ten years he created 22 collections, and changed the silhouette of his designs each season. As many designers abolished the corset, Dior brought it back. Chanel's answer to this was tweed suits, quilted bags and the "little black dress."